Below, you'll find our detailed reviews and a buyer's guide, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

Why Use a Sleeping Bag Liner?

Protecting the sleeping bag﻿﻿﻿: You’ve paid plenty of money for a good sleeping bag. Heading off up Kilimanjaro or to the backcountry is a dusty, sandy experience. The fine sand and dust will eventually get into the insulation of the sleeping bag and degrade it. Using a sleeping bag liner will prolong the life of your sleeping bag.

Hygiene: Keeps your sleeping bag clean, preventing oils from your skin and sweat from damaging the lining material of the bag. It's much easier to launder a liner than a sleeping bag!

Additional warmth: a good sleeping bag liner can improve the temperature rating of your sleeping bag - some manufacturers make very optimistic claims of up to 25 degrees. I am skeptical of that but a good Thermolite liner can certainly add 5-15F to your bag's rating

Comfort: sometimes in the inner linings of sleeping bags can feel a bit clammy and the nylon/polyester doesn't suit everyone. Having a liner in your choice of fabric ensures that what comes into contact with your skin is comfortable for you.

If you are renting a sleeping bag, then the liner will provide a useful barrier between you and any dirt left behind by the previous occupant!

On warmer nights, you can sleep in the liner instead of your sleeping bag, preventing you from overheating.

Different Types of Sleeping Bag Liner

Sleeping Bag Liners come in a Variety of Materials:

Silk or silk-blend: these are the most lightweight and compressible. They provide good insulation, improving the warmth of your bag slightly. Silk is absorbent and breathable keeping you dry and your sleeping bag protected.

Cotton: a bit more bulky than silk but at the very least a cotton liner will be absorbent and protect your sleeping bag. Cotton is durable but slow to dry if it gets wet.

Fleece or Microfleece: these liners are the warmest, adding up to 12F to your sleeping bag’s rating. If you have a 3-season sleeping bag, one of these can increase the rating to 4-season. Quick drying, absorbent and breathable, these tend to be more bulky and heavier.

Synthetic (eg CoolMax): Very lightweight, moisture-wicking and breathable, these will add a little warmth and are very good for humid conditions.

Insulated (eg Thermolite): These sleeping bag liners are made from hollow core fiber insulation and are the warmest of all liners, adding 15-20F to your sleeping bag’s warmth. Quick drying, they are also a bit larger and bulkier. Ideal if warmth is your goal.

Shape:

Good sleeping bag liners come in a variety of shapes. Mummy-shape to fit your sleeping bag, rectangular shaped for sleeping in hostels or traditional sleeping bags.

Others are made of a stretchy material so that you don’t get tangled up in it. Some have zips or velcro closures or are simply a tube.

Some liners will have a space for a pillow which is mostly for use in hostels and hotels of dubious cleanliness. Tube shapes can be a bit difficult to get in and out of for calls of nature during the night.

What Sleeping Bag Liner should I use?

​For added warmth:

If you are concerned about feeling cold on your hike, and want some added reassurance, then I recommend a good Thermolite liner or a fleece liner. They will take up a bit more room, but ensure that you are kept super-warm on cold mountain nights.

If you are confident in the warmth rating of your sleeping bag, and just want a liner to keep it clean, then I recommend a silk, cotton or synthetic lightweight liner that won’t take up much space or weight in your pack. Whilst these may add a little extra warmth, you won't want to rely on them to significantly change the rating of your sleeping bag.

Similar to the Thermolite Reactor, but a tiny bit heavier, this sleeping bag liner will add additional warmth to your sleeping bag.

The fabric is lightweight and stretchy. I found this one made a big difference to my comfort when camping in front of a glacier in Crater Camp, Kilimanjaro. However, I would not rely on it to increase the warmth-rating of a sub-standard sleeping bag.

Sizing: Length: 183cm Width: 90cm (Note that this stretches)​

What We Like

Lightweight and compressible, the tapered design reduces weight and bulk

110g/m2 of thermolite adds warmth to the sleeping bag

Thermolite hollow core fiber is stretchy so that you can move around comfortably

Breathable to wick moisture away from your body

Mummy shape with a foot box maximizes thermal efficiency and it fits well into a sleeping bag

Drawcord hood preventing heat loss around your head and neck area

Weight: 399g which is great if you want to add warmth without carrying additional weight

What We Don't Like

Claims that it adds up to 15C to the temperature rating of your sleeping bag. These figures are very hard to measure, I would not rely on it.

A more heavy-duty fleece liner that will really boost the warmth-rating of your sleeping bag. If you have a 15F sleeping bag and want to be sure of staying warm in the mountains, then this could be your choice.

The lovely brushed fabric is super-soft to the touch and when I tried it out I was too warm! Ideal if you sleep very cold or are less confident about the warmth rating of your sleeping bag.

You can also use it on it’s own as a light sleeping bag when conditions are warmer. And it’s lovely for curling up on the sofa on a cold winter’s night!

Sizing: Length: 200cm Width: 70cm​

What We Like

Definitely increases the warmth rating of your sleeping bag

Smaller than most fleece liners, packs down small

Brushed fabric is soft and comfortable against your skin

Quarter zip makes it very easy to get in and out of

Panelled hood for extra comfort and preventing heat loss around your head

So warm and cosy that it can be used alone on warmer nights

Mummy shape reduces bulk and maximises thermal efficiency

Weight: 420g (higher than lighter fabric, but still low for a technical fleece liner)

What We Don't Like

Larger and bulkier than other liners, maybe difficult on a backpacking trip

Cost - if you haven’t already bought your sleeping bag, you might like to consider using the money to buy a better sleeping bag!

Don’t forget your travel insurance!

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